White House says no terror threats for New Year's

[Newsjock]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16335678.htm

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Americans should ring in the new year without undue worry about a terrorist attack, the White House homeland security adviser said Thursday.

"People ought to come, have a good time, they ought to feel confident," Frances Fragos Townsend said in a nationally broadcast television interview.

Townsend said that while the Bush administration takes every threat seriously, it has heard of no plot or plan that should cause alarm as the nation celebrates New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

"We hear statements all the time" from the al-Qaida terrorist network, among others, she said on ABC's "Good Morning America." But Townsend added that "rarely are they attached to actions."

[Xenotime]

1. How can you trust them?

When they said there was a threat, nothing would happen. Now they are saying there is no threat?!? Remember the govt does not have your best interest in mind.

[TygrBright]

2. Bet they're disappointed about that... n/t

[dave_p]

3. Now that's scary

I recommend a quiet night at home.

[Say_What]

6. I agree!! Welcome to DU!!

:hi:

[John Q. Citizen]

8. I was thinking the same thing. n/t

[wryter2000]

4. Go shopping!

The terrorists win if you don't go shopping.

Personally, I think I'll get into bed and pull the covers up over my head. They've probably got it wrong again.

:hide:

[Benhurst]

5. How absurd! It's on the order of demanding Iraq prove it didn't

have weapons of mass destruction.

You can't prove a negative.

No person in a position of authority should be saying there will be no terrorist attacks unless, of course, they are in charge of planning and executing them.

It's difficult in view of such a statement to know whether to reach for a :tinfoilhat: or :rofl:.

[soup]

7. Proof

we don't have to fight 'em here - because Brilliant George is killin' them all over there. Yeah, that's it.

[Whoa_Nelly]

9. * is still in the WH driver's seat

Terror continues to exist....don't be fooled.

[TomInTib]

10. That's like telling your enemy that you will meet 'em in the street

but you're going to leave your weapons at home.

What absolute bullshit.

The Booga-Booga White House telling us to party down.

I just woke up and already my head is spinning.

[madeline_con]

11. Whew! What a relief! n/t

[ripple]

12. Cool, ESP

Are they making predictions about the Fourth of July, too?

[onehandle]

13. Any excuse to mention terrorism.

Jerks.

[LTR]

14. Well sheeit, what am I gonna do with all this duct tape?

:shrug:

[mikelgb]

15. aww but you promised!

[frylock]

16. non-election year = no terror..

it doesn't take a genius...

[underpants]

17. They hear things all the time

amount to nothing, now at least.

[Gloria]

18. Too busy to plan one??

[indypaul]

19. Now I'm worried. n/t

[truthisfreedom]

20. But what's in store once the Democratic Party is in charge of Congress, bushco?

What hell will you unleash upon us at that point?

[kestrel91316]

21. So that's why they've lowered the threat level to Green, right?

(crickets chirping)

[Divernan]

22. Will someone notify the damned Cleveland airport of this fact?

I fly through there (connecting flight - 2 hour layover) once a month, and for the past three trips, the public announcement system, every FIVE minutes, blairs a recording:

"ATTENTION ! ! ! The DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY has raised the terror alert to

O R A N G E ! ! ! ! !"

It then continues with a whole list of people you should IMMEDIATELY notify if you spy anything SUSPICIOUS ! ! !, like an unattended bag, or SUSPICIOUS people, blah, blah, blah!

Other airports, by contrast, like Newark, will maybe every 20 or 30 minutes, remind you not to leave your bag unattended. They do not feel compelled to refer to the ridiculous color code, or DHS.